Introducing: Arlandria

Situated in Alexandria, right past the Alexandria/Arlington line, and a zip code away from some of the most affluent neighborhoods in the city, is the area commonly called “Arlandria.” While it can be pinpointed on a Google map and some may recognize the strip of stores and restaurants on Mount Vernon Avenue, which serves as its main street, many people, including those nearby, might not be aware of what—and who—makes up the Arlandria community. The diversity and significant Latino population in the Arlandria neighborhood creates a unique intersection of class, language and culture in the inner suburbs of D.C.

Blocks away, a world apart: Latino immigrants shape and meet the needs of unique Alexandria community

(Photo by Kate Musselwhite)

Arlandria is easy to miss. The Spanish-language signs end almost as quickly as they begin after crossing over into Alexandria from Arlington on Mount Vernon Avenue. Before you know it, you’re in the midst of typically quaint Alexandria areas like Del Ray and historic Old Town. Just blocks away, these neighborhoods seem worlds apart.

Alexandria resident Margaret Lorber, who has worked for years with the Arlandria community and the city’s schools, said many are unaware of what goes on in the neighborhood.

“You just can’t believe how many sides there are in Alexandria,” she said.

To the outsider, Arlandria might hastily be defined as the strip of nondescript Latino stores and eateries stuck between the more posh surroundings that lie beyond Glebe Road. But, while it is a predominantly Latino community, there is more to Arlandria than a few stop lights, storefronts and tiendas. It is a community that embodies the cultures, concerns and contradictions that so many immigrants encounter living in America.

According to a 2007 report, “Washington’s Latin American and Caribbean population has grown six-fold over the past 25 years,” and Latino immigrants have traditionally had much lower incomes than those of the general population.

So many come from El Salvador, in fact, that Arlandria has been nicknamed after a region there.

“Most of the people that were living here, they were from that town there, so that’s why they call it Chirilagua,” said Ena Moran, a Salvadorian who immigrated to Arlandria 20 years ago. “Now this part of town…is just called Chirilagua, so it’s kind of famous.”

Moran said she came to the U.S., and Arlandria specifically, looking for her mother who had emigrated from El Salvador seeking better work and an education for her children. She said many people immigrate here to reunite with their mothers or family members.

She said the Latino community in Arlandria formed and continues to grow around the commonalities shared by so many of its residents — the Spanish language and the experience of being an immigrant in a new and very different place.

See and hear more from Tenants and Workers United members about the organization’s health project and its impact on the community. The project organizers hosted an event in November to celebrate Thanksgiving and inform community members of their healthcare rights and resources.

Concerns and contradictions

Studies have shown that certain burdens traditionally afflict immigrants in the U.S., including language barriers, low incomes and limited access to social services. This is no different for Arlandria’s Latino residents.

Through her work with the community, Lorber has seen the “hand-to-mouth” circumstances some of Arlandria’s immigrant families find themselves in — sometimes, she said, entire families living in one bedroom, barely scraping together rent and utilities on low-paying jobs.

“To me it’s very interesting, that probably the majority of Alexandrians just have no idea how many people live that way,” she said.

“This is a really low-income community,” said Evelin Urrutia, a native of El Salvador and the Community Organizer for Tenants and Workers United, a grass-roots organization based in Alexandria that advocates for the rights of low-income communities.

The organization’s projects and campaigns—namely around housing, education and healthcare—reflect the major social problems that affect much of the Arlandria community.

“Insurance is so expensive,” said Moran, adding that the waiting time for an appointment at the neighborhood clinic can be as long as three months. “It takes so long, sometimes the people get really sick…or have to go to the emergency room, but they don’t have insurance.”

The nonprofit organization also focuses on increasing awareness and communication between the Arlandria community and the public schools. Ruth Dinzey, who came to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic, is the Education Project Organizer. She said that challenges have lessened as schools have hired more bilingual staff members.

She said the project is also making recommendations about ways to individualize education to meet immigrant students’ needs.

Hear Ruth Dinzey, Education Project Organizer for Tenants and Workers United, talk about the challenges immigrants face in the school systems, including language barriers, suspension and difficult living situations.